2B | SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS
Viks
from 1B
Tupua, as well as two aces.
Zoe Alberty had a clutch
tip, followed by an ace, af-
ter which point Siuslaw
held the lead until the set’s
end.
The Viks clinched the set
win with a very sneaky tip
from Norton, finishing 25-
21.
Time spent in prac-
tice on maintaining focus
clearly paid off. In addi-
tion to working on staying
unshakeable, Cole spent a
great deal of time in prac-
tice with the girls on serv-
ing.
According to Cole, “That
first set [tonight] was so
close because we had six
missed serves. And then
that second game, we blew
them away, and we didn't
have any missed serves. We
really drilled that into them
— in practice, we were run-
ning for missed serves.”
Soccer
from 1B
second goal, again on a
breakaway, but this time
from a rebound off of the
goalie. Lane followed the
ball in and finished for the
score.
Siuslaw and Junction
City remained tied at 2-2
for about a third of the sec-
ond half.
“We got tired, and we
didn't have any subs and
[Junction City] did. I think
our legs just got tired,”
Tomaro said. “We still we
had chances; it's not that
we weren't pushing up the
field and taking shots at the
end of the game, we were —
we just weren't connecting
with the net.”
Towards the end of the
game, Junction City scored
three more times, with
goalie Derrick Van-duch
making two saves on de-
fense.
Tomaro made note of the
fact that her team would
have to focus a bit more on
offense moving forward.
“I think some of the
changes we did in the sec-
ond half with moving the
lineup around are things
that we're going to start
out doing in the future,
because it gives us more
of a push into the other
team’s end, and a little bit
more pressure on offense,”
she said, adding that the
team’s line-up in the first
half was heavily defensive.
“And as one of our players
pointed out rather force-
fully at halftime, you can't
win games if you don't
score,” added Tomaro.
“You need to get bodies
up in front of the goal in
order to get those scoring
opportunities.”
Tomaro also made
mention of the fact that
she would need to bring
more kids over from the
JV team in order to have
enough subs for her varsi-
ty team to play strong for
the duration of a game.
“Both teams had no
subs, so it's not that I was
giving more to the JV,
but I think that I need to
give less to the JV because
they’ve won both of their
games, handily,” said To-
maro. “I need some of that
play to be able to come
in and substitute. There
are players on that team
who can be varsity subs.
It would just let us move
things around a little bit
more.”
Both Tomaro and her
players are learning a
great deal during their
varsity debut this season.
And while Tuesday’s loss
hurt, the Vikings took it in
stride heading into Thurs-
day night’s match against
Elmira.
“We knew going in that
it was a big step up from
Cole the explained that
one player brought the idea
up [in practice]. “She said,
‘Well, we should do this on
game day.’ I was like, ‘Okay,
let's do it,’” said Cole.
“They put their own con-
sequenc-es on themselves,
and that really pushed
them.”
That time spent practice
serving was fruitful Tues-
day, with Hayden Muller
starting off the next set
serving nine consecutive
serves. Norton and Blake
were ferocious on the net,
and Muller had several kills
from the back row.
The Lady Viks were
nearly unstoppable, with
a block and two aces from
Tupua, as well as a kill from
Hailee Outlaw, bringing
Siuslaw to a 12-point lead
near the end of the second
set. One more kill from
Outlaw, along with two
more from the outside cor-
ner from Blake, sealed the
win at 25-15.
Cole explained that a
lot of time in practice was
spent on net presence as
well, which was clear to see
in sets two and three.
“Just after seeing how we
did against Marist up at the
net, it's 100 percent differ-
ent today from the Marist
game,” said Cole. “We were
really aware at the net to-
night, and that helped us
out a lot, too, because we
just drilled it back if [Elmi-
ra] overpassed it. We were
ready for it. And we really
worked on that in practice.”
Siuslaw smashed it even
harder in the third set, with
kills from Norton, Blake
and Tupua straightaway.
Cole noted that making
the decision to move fresh-
man Meika Shappell up to
var-sity full time this week
was also helpful to the team
— including an ace from
Shappell in the third set.
“She was swinging at
Marist [last week] and I
only had one set with her,”
said Cole. “I made the de-
cision to bring her up full
time, and it's really helped
us a lot. She really is aware
on the court for being a
freshman, she really knows
what she's doing. Seeing
her grow within the next
couple of years is going to
be awesome.”
Outlaw had one more
kill, along with three kills
and a pair of aces from
Tupua. The Viks also got
an ace from Alberty. In the
end, Blake proved unstop-
pable at the net, pulling in
three more kills for a final
score of 25-10 to complete
the sweep over Elmira.
Cole was proud of Blake’s
performance, saying, “She
had 13 kills tonight —a
great game! It’s funny be-
cause all practice she was
[struggling with her tim-
ing], and then she comes
out to-night and has a kill-
er game. She just didn't let
that affect her at all.”
Blake’s time spent on the
net in practice translated
into successfully psyching
out the Falcons.
“I was telling her she
needed to find their holes
on the court, and there
were a few to tip into. She
tipped in one of them, and
she got a kill,” said Cole.
“That next hit, the block
was nowhere there; they
were so far apart, and they
weren't ready for it.”
Muller, the team’s libero,
had a great game as well,
proving herself to be one of
the key assets to the team’s
success.
“Hayden had a killer
game serving,” said Cole,
who added that Muller’s
positive attitude af-fects
the rest of the team. “That's
how she is in general. Be-
fore we even had our first
game, I told her, ‘You need
to keep that energy because
[the team is] going to feed
off of that.”
The team played more
cohesively and with more
energy than they did in last
week’s match with Marist.
“We were just way more
aware,” said Cole. “I hate to
blame the Marist game on
us being rusty, but that's a
big part of it. Only having
seven practices and then
coming out here for our
first game, it's hard. I'm
just really happy with how
we did tonight. They took
everything we did in prac-
tice last week and brought
it all out here.”
The Lady Vikings played
again
Thursday
night
(March 11) at Junction
City, with the Tigers win-
ning in three sets, 25-13,
25-21, 25-19.
Tupua led with 11 kills
and 8 blocks, Blake had 6
kills and Outlaw had 3.
Siuslaw plays again Tues-
day, on the road at Cottage
Grove, beginning 6:45 p.m.
No spectators are allowed
into games without ad-
vanced notice.
JV, but just getting out on
the field and expe-rienc-
ing that is a different thing
altogether,” said Tomaro.
“So, we're finding our feet a
little bit, but we're compet-
itive, so nobody is rolling
over us easily.”
That was evident two
nights later against the Fal-
cons (March 11).
Tomaro’s Vikings were
able to step up their game
even further, with Siuslaw
pulling out the win and
smashing Elmira 4-0.
Tomaro said she expect-
ed her team to perform
better against Elmira, ex-
plaining, “We knew this
was more of our matchup
going in, we know sort of
where the teams fall out,
and the dif-ferent levels.
So, we knew this was going
to be a much better match-
up for us than some of the
other games.”
The Viks played strong
defense in the first half,
which allowed them to
spend most of the time
pushing up the field on of-
fense. The first goal of the
game was actually an own-
goal by a an Elmira defend-
er, who accidently nudged
the ball into the net instead
of out of the field of play.
Shortly after, senior
Jaxson Jensen was able to
score a second goal for the
Viks.
“[It] was a beautiful
cross-goal shot by Jaxson,”
Tomaro said of Jensen’s
goal, which he took from
the left side of the goal and
across to the right side of
the goal.
The Vikings had seven
total shots in the first half,
with Lane making two saves
in the first half as well.
Siuslaw came out just as
hungry in the second half,
scoring two more goals.
The first was put in again
by Jensen, on a free kick
just outside the penalty
area near the corner.
“The goalkeeper al-
most caught it, but the ball
popped out of his arms
and went into the goal,”
said Tomaro.
Freshman Dylan Jensen
scored the fourth goal,
capitalizing off a corner
kick from Jaxson Jen-sen.
“It was a beautifully timed
shot from the Jensens,” To-
maro said, explaining how
Dylan connected with the
ball on the outside of his
foot, redirecting it into the
top right corner of the goal.
The Vikings continued
executing strong offense
in the second half, taking
11 shots total. Meanwhile,
Vanduch held strong on
defense, making four saves
in the second half — in-
cluding a beautiful diving
block.
“It was really fun to see
our team settle in and play
a good passing game and
give each other the space to
make plays while still being
in supportive positioning,”
Tomaro said. “It's always
exciting to win, it’s exciting
to see your kids play, all of
it, first home game win!”
While the teams were
more evenly matched than
in the previous two games,
Tomaro also felt that the
team performed so well be-
cause they are finally start-
ing to sync up.
“Probably part of it was
that they weren't having
their first night jitters,” said
the coach. “Part of it was
that they really settled into
their passing game, and
they're really getting used
to playing together.
“I think the more game
time we have, the more
they're going to gel, and the
more they're go-ing to trust
each other to play their po-
sitions and know how their
teammates are going to
move the ball around. And
we had subs today — That
makes a difference.”
Above all, Tomaro’s team
is improving with each
game, which is the biggest
thing a coach can hope for
in the first year of a new
program.
The Vikings next take on
Marist Catholic at home to-
day (March 13) at 2 p.m.
As Lane County moved
into the Moderate Risk
category on Friday (March
12), Siuslaw soccer may
have up to 150 spectators
at the match, provided a
health screening is com-
pleted on site.
Do you part and volunteer today to help support
these organizations in our community.
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Assisting those in need in our Community.
Free Hot Meals Mon-Wed-Fri
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
HELPING HANDS COALITION
New Location:Community Baptist Church
4590 Hwy. 101, Florence (Across from Fred Meyer)
Call 541-997-5057 to Volunteer
relies heavily
on volunteers.
Th ere are many opportunities to
volunteer and a variety of skills
and talents are always in need.
Volunteer interest forms may be
found online, at the shelter and
at our Th rift Shop on Bay Street.
www.oregoncoasthumanesociety.org/volunteer/
Saving men one
PSA test at a time.
541-997-6626
maribob@oregonfast.net
Someone to talk to...
who understands!
To include your organization
in this directory, please call us
@ 541-997-3441
Faith – Friendship - Fellowship – Fun
CHURCH DIRECTORY
To include your organization in this directory,
please call us @ 541-997-3441
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
FOURSQUARE CHURCH
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
1624 Highway 101 (next to A&W) –- 997-6337
2705 Munsel Lake Road, All are welcome!
Pastor George Pagel – Something for the entire family.
Zoom Worship Services: 10 AM & 11:30 AM Sunday.
Sun. Services: 10:45 a.m.
Bishop Larry Farnsworth 541-999-1979
Wednesday Bible Study returns this Fall.
Website: florence4square.com
COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH
4590 Hwy. 101, Across from Fred Meyer –- 997-7418
NEW LIFE LUTHERAN E.L.C.A.
Sunday School, 9:30a.m. – Worship, 10:45
21st & Spruce Streets—997-8113
Wed. Prayer - 6:00 p.m. –
Pastor Jim Abbott, All are welcome.
Wed. Ministries 1-8 Grade 7 p.m.
Sunday in-person worship service@ 10:30.
Also available to you on website
www.florencenewlifelutheran.org.
CROSS ROAD ASSEMBLY OF GOD
Corner of 10th & Maple- 541-997-3533
Sunday Services are 9am and 11am and on
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF THE SIUSLAW
Facebook live and KCST at 11am
3996 N Hwy 101 541-997-7136
Wednesdays at 7pm
Internet and in person Sunday services at 10AM,
https://www.florencecrossroadag.org/church-online
Call the church for details.
Other platforms update after the service.
Reverend Greg Wood
florencecrossroadag.org
All Welcome. Come as you are.
office@florencecrossroadag.org
RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (QUAKERS)
“War is still not the answer.” FCNL
FLORENCE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Since
we
meet
in homes, we are taking a mindful pause.
2nd & Ivy - 541-997-2961 - Non-Denominational
Call
997-4237
or 902-9511 for information.
Service is on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
Sunday Service also streaming live at 10:00 am
RESURRECTION LUTHERAN CHURCH, L.C.M.S.
at florencechurch.com
Worship Services 10am 1st & 2nd Sunday
and 8am 3rd & 4th Sunday
FLORENCE CHURCH OF CHRIST
85294
Hwy. 101 S. – 997-8038
Pre-Denominational (Romans 16:16)
DVD
of
Weekly
worship service available.
1833 Tamarack Street
www.puppro.wixite.com/rlcflorence
(2 blocks east of Hwy. 101 on 18th St.)
Bible Study: Sunday 10 a.m.; Worship: Sunday 11 a.m.
ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
www.churchofchristflorence.org
Welcomes you to Worship Services
Sunday
at 9am and Wednesday at 11am
FLORENCE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
2135
19th St. – 997-6600
1318 Rhododendron Dr. • 541-997-2523
Reservations
Required Call or Email
Sunday Service 11am ( Children Sunday School)
standrewssecretary19@gmail.com
Mid-Week Activities, all ages.
Labyrinth & Garden Open Daily 8am - 5pm
www.standrewsflorence.org
FLORENCE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
4445 Hwy 101 (South of Fred Meyer) – 997-3951
SAINT MARY, OUR LADY OF THE DUNES
Worship on Saturday 10:30 A.M.
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Adult/Children’s Sabbath School 9:15 A.M.
1.5 miles south of river on Hwy 101 – 997-2312
COVID-19 Compliant Masses have been scheduled.
FLORENCE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP
Please call our office for details.
87738 Hwy 101 at Heceta Beach Road
RUAUU? All are welcome to explore the answer.
Until it is safe to meet in person, Sunday Worship Services
are available 24/7 on our website: www.florenceuuf.org
FLORENCE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
2nd & Kingwood • (541) 997-6025
Link to Sunday services at
www.florenceunitedmethodist.org
or find us on Facebook.
Give us a call
541-997-3441
to get us your updates or
email to:
mberg@thesiuslawnews.com